New year brings smoother entry for Chinese citizens

New regulations that streamline the entry of Chinese to Taiwan are to take effect on Wednesday, the National Immigration Agency said yesterday.

The new rules are aimed at encouraging cross-strait exchanges, according to the Ministry of the Interior.

Chinese making professional or business visits for periods of less than 30 days will no longer need to have their visa applications reviewed by the authorities at their destinations.

This will shorten the time for obtaining entry permits to three working days from 10 for Chinese professionals, and to three working days from five for Chinese businesspeople, the agency said.

These short-term applicants will also no longer have to provide documents, such as forum agendas or theses for review, it added. Applicants in these two categories account for 90 percent of all Chinese professional and businesspeople applying to visit, according to the agency.

The agency said it has also enhanced security measures at ports of entry.

According to the new rules, Chinese whom local authorities suspect might overstay their permits or break Taiwan’s laws will be banned from entry.

Meanwhile, parents of Chinese studying in Taiwan will be able to apply for short visits as part of efforts to ease restrictions on this group.

Parents of Chinese who marry Taiwanese can visit under the same scheme, Deputy Minister of the Interior Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇) said.

The revision is people-oriented, Hsiao said, adding that he is not too concerned that Chinese visitors will overstay their trips, as they will have to undergo strict background checks.

Under the amendment, the number of households that can be headed by Chinese in Taiwan will be capped at 20,000, with the combined amount of land they can own restricted to 1,300 hectares.

Ministry data shows that only 122 of the nation’s about 7 million households have been headed by Chinese over the past 12 years.

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